Jean-Jacques Rousseau · Complete work
Book III, Chapter 9
Book III, Chapter 9 of 49. Read it here for reference, or continue through the entire work without leaving the reader.
Open the complete readerOriginal French
Des signes d’un bon Gouvernement.
Quand donc on demande absolument quel est le meilleur Gouvernement, on fait une question insoluble comme indéterminée; ou si l’on veut, elle a autant de bonnes solutions qu’il y a de combinaisons possibles dans les positions absolues & rélatives des peuples.
Mais si l’on demandoit à quel signe on peut connoitre qu’un peuple donné est bien ou mal gouverné, ce seroit autre chose, & la question de fait pourroit se résoudre.
Cependant on ne la résout point, parce que chacun veut la résoudre à sa maniere. Les sujets vantent la tranquillité publique, les Citoyens la liberté des particuliers; l’un préfere la sureté des possessions, & l’autre celle des personnes; l’un veut que le meilleur Gouvernement soit le plus sévère, l’autre soutient que c’est le plus doux; celui-ci veut qu’on punisse les crimes, & celui-là qu’on les prévienne; l’un trouve beau qu’on soit craint des voisins, l’autre aime mieux qu’on en soit ignoré; l’un est content quand l’argent circule, l’autre exige que le peuple ait du pain. Quand-même on conviendroit sur ces points & d’autres semblables, en seroit-on plus avancé? Les qualités morales manquant de mesure précise, fut-on d’accord sur le signe, comment l’être sur l’estimation?
Pour moi, je m’étonne toujours qu’on méconnoisse un signe aussi simple, ou qu’on ait la mauvaise foi de n’en pas convenir. Quelle est la fin de l’association politique? C’est la conservation & la prospérité de ses membres. Et quel est le signe le plus sûr qu’ils se conservent & prospérent? C’est leur nombre & leur population. N’allez donc pas chercher ailleurs ce signe si disputé. Toute chose d’ailleurs égale, le Gouvernement sous lequel, sans moyens étrangers sans naturalisations sans colonies les Citoyens peuplent & multiplient davantage, est infailliblement le meilleur: celui sous lequel un peuple diminue & dépérit est le pire. Calculateurs, c’est maintenant votre affaire; comptez, mesurez, comparez.
Musean translation
Mouseia’s complete machine-assisted Musean translation, made directly from the complete French text of the 1762 edition, all four books and the appendix for fidelity, the author’s force and cadence, and modern clarity.
On the Signs of a Good Government
When, then, someone asks without qualification which government is best, the question is as indeterminate as it is impossible to answer; or, if one prefers, it has as many right answers as there are possible combinations of the absolute and relative circumstances of peoples.
But to ask by what sign we can tell whether a given people is well or badly governed is another matter, and that factual question could be answered.
Yet it is not answered, because everyone wants to answer it in his own way. Subjects praise public tranquility, citizens individual freedom; one prefers the security of possessions, another that of persons; one wants the best government to be the most severe, another maintains it is the mildest; this person wants crimes punished, that one wants them prevented; one thinks it splendid to be feared by neighbors, another would rather be unknown to them; one is satisfied when money circulates, another insists that the people have bread. Even if agreement were reached on these and similar points, would we be any further along? Moral qualities lack a precise measure: even if we agreed on the sign, how could we agree on its valuation?
For my part, I am always astonished that people fail to recognize so simple a sign, or have the bad faith not to acknowledge it. What is the purpose of political association? The preservation and prosperity of its members. And what is the surest sign that they survive and prosper? Their number and population. Do not, then, look elsewhere for this much-disputed sign. All other things being equal, the government under which citizens increase and multiply most, without foreign means, naturalizations, or colonies, is unfailingly the best; the one under which a people dwindles and wastes away is the worst. Calculators, the task is now yours: count, measure, compare.
Plain English translation
Mouseia’s complete Plain English edition, made independently and directly from the complete French text of the 1762 edition, all four books and the appendix.
The signs of a good government.
So when someone asks without qualification which government is best, the question is too vague to answer. Or, if you like, it has as many valid answers as there are possible combinations of the peoples' circumstances, considered both in themselves and in relation to others.
But asking how we can tell whether a particular people is well or badly governed would be another matter. That is a factual question, and it could be answered.
Yet no one answers it, because everyone wants to answer it in their own way. Subjects praise public calm; citizens praise individual freedom. One person prefers the safety of possessions, another the safety of persons. One wants the best government to be the strictest, another argues that it is the gentlest. One wants crimes punished, another wants them prevented. One thinks it is good to be feared by neighboring countries, another would rather be ignored by them. One is satisfied when money circulates, another insists that the people have bread. Even if we agreed on these points and others like them, would we be any further along? Moral qualities have no exact measure. Even if we agreed on what sign to use, how would we agree on assessing it?
For my part, I am always amazed that people fail to recognize such a simple sign, or dishonestly refuse to admit it. What is the purpose of political association? To preserve its members and help them prosper. And what is the surest sign that they are surviving and prospering? Their numbers and their population growth. So do not look elsewhere for this much-disputed sign. All else being equal, the best government is always the one under which citizens increase in number the most, without outside help, naturalizations, or colonies. The worst is the one under which a people shrinks and dies out. Those of you who calculate, it is now your turn: count, measure, compare.